Rail clamp



Sept. 25, 1928 4 1,685,468

A. TROSCH RAIL CLAMP Filed July 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR V Zfreaz.F SC

HMK

Sept. 25, 1928.

A. TROSCH RAIL CLAMP Filed July 1 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORflzfieazfiosci Y 7 isATT0RNEY Sept. 25, 1928.

A. TROSCH RAIL CLAMP Filed July 18, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lit PatentedSept 25, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED TROSCH, or ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, AssIGNoR TO consonna'rnn macnnmTOOL CORPORATION OF AMERICA, OF R DELAWARE. RAIL Application filed July18,

This invent-ion relates to a rail clamp to hold a railway truck inpredetermined position upon the track.

The principal objectof the invention is to 6 provide an eflicient andsimple clamping mechanism for anchoring a truck to a railway track so asto prevent movement of the truck.

Another object of the invention is to provide aform of clampingmechanism which can be quickly and easily tightened'or released so thatthe truck may be moved along the rails when desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a formvof clampingmechanism which can be moved easily to an ineffective position to permitthe entire truck to be lifted bodily off of the rails.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simple .form ofclamp which requires a minimum amount of time and efi ortto move it fromeffective to ineffective position. r

A stillfurt-her object of the invention is to provide a simple andeflicient mechanism for ti 'htening several clamps simultaneously.

With these and other ends in view, the invention comprises the structureand combination of parts which will appear more clearly from thefollowing description when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, the novel features being pointed out' in the claims followingthe description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a truck adapted to run on railway rails,showing one possible embodiment of my invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section taken approximately along the line 22of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken approximately along the line '3'3of Figure 1';

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through one of theclamps showing it in effective position;

Figure 5 is a section'along the line 55 of Figure 4 showing the clamp ineffective position, and v a Figure 6 is a View similar to Figure 5showing the clamp in ineffective position. 7

In machine shops and other factories, it is customary to mount certainmachine tools upon small railway trucks. A large piece of work, such agirder or a long bed plate, may be set up parallel to aconvenientrailway track,

OCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION 0! chain.

182?. Serial No 208,580.

working upon the same veters or milling machines or any other devices),being mounted upon trucks, may be moved back and forth along the trackso as to operate indifferent positions along the article being workedupon. When one of these is :evident that the truck upon which it ismounted must be held rigidly inplace and kept from moving along thetrack. To'this end, suitable clamps may be employed for clamping thetruck to the rails, which clam must be capable of being tightened tohold t e truck firmly in any desired position, and must also be able tobe loosened easily to permit the truck to be moved along the track toanother position. At the same time, it is often necessary to lift thesetrucks bodily off the track'in order to move them around an obstructionon the track'to a new location without loss of time, when it isimpossible to move the truck along the track in the usual manner. Theclamps for holding the truck in position must therefore be of such anature that they will not interfere with the truck being liftedvertically off the rails.

This application shows one possible embodiment of clamping mechanismdesigned to fulfill these conditions. It is to be understood, however,that this clamping mechanism and the various parts thereof are notlimited in application to trucks of the kind mentioned above forcarrying machinery, but may be applied to any other form of truck orvehicle running on railway rails whenever it is desired to hold suchtruck or vehicle rigidly upon the track. 1 r In the embodiment of theinvention shown and the machinesfor (such as n machines is operatingupon the work, it

in the drawings, the truck may consist of a s worm wheel 16 driven by aworm 17 on a shaft- 18. This shaft may be driven by gearing 19 and 20operated by asuitable motor 21. The clamping mechanismior holding thetruck. and preventing movement thereof on tion 26 and ends bent inwardlyother to form hook-like rail-engag1ngpor thus anchor the clamp relativeto therail.

clear passageway between it is inthe effective position.-

in longitudinal movement of the shank the clamp.

the track may consist of a plurality of clamps, each including a shank25 and a-rail-embracing member, fixed to the lower end thereof. Thisrail-embracing member is generally of inverted U-sha-pe, and includes anupper portoward each tions 27, as shown clearly in Figure 4. Theserail-engaging portions 27are somewhat offset from each other and thereis a clear passageway between them slightly wider than the width ofthe-head of the rail. l/Vhen the clamping member is in the positionshown in Figure 5, it is apparent that the rail-engaging portions 27underlie the head of the rail. Vertical or longitudinal movement of theshank'25, when the clamp is in this position, will result in drawing theclamp upward tightly against the head of the rail and the rail-embracingmember be turned slightly from'the position shown in Figure 5 to thatillustrated in Figure 6, it is apparent that the rail-engaging portions27 will no longer underlie the head of the rail but will have a themwhich will permit the clamp to be lifted vertically oil the rail. p IVariousinechanisms may be employed for turning the clamp from itseffective or Figure 5 position to its ineffective or Figure 6positionand for producing movement of the shank 25 in order to tightenthe clamp when One possible form of such mechanism, illustrated in thedrawings by way of example, comprises screw threads upon the shank 25and a nut 30 threaded upon the shank and having worm wheel teeth out inthe periphery thereof. This combined nut and worm wheel 30 is providedwith suitable thrust bearings 31 on each side thereof, which'allow theworm wheel to rotate freely but which hold it against axial movementrelative to the frame of the truck. Rotation of the nut and worm wheel30 in one direction or the other will therefore result 25 of Raising theshank will tighten the clamp if it is in its effective position, shownin Figure 5, but when the clamp is in its ineffective position, as shownin Figure 6, raising the shank will simply pull the railengagingportions 27 up past the edge of the head of the rail but will. produceno contact between the rail and the clamp.

7 Any suitable mechanism may be employed for turning the worm wheels 30.Preferably,

each worm wheel is driven by a worm 31.

Any desired number of clamps may be employed, and the drivingarrangements for the worms will obviously depend somewhat on the numberand position of the clamps. In the present construction, four of theseclamps havebeen shown, two on each side of the truck to engage eachrail.

' accessible to the operator.

' A suitable driving mechanism for such an arrangement consists of twotransverse shafts 32 mounted in the frame of the truck, each shaftcarrying two of the worms 31 for cooperation with one of the worm wheelsoneach side of the truck, as is clearly illustrated in Figure 1. Each ofthese transverse shafts 32 may at one end with a bevel gear 33 driven byanother bevel gear 3 on the end ofa jack shaft 35 connected to asuitable motor 36. This motor would preferably be of the reversing typeso that it could be used to loosen the clamps as well as to tightenthem.

In the construction heretofore described, it will beseen that mechanismis provided for simultaneously driving the various worm wheels totighten or loosen all the clamps at once. It is obvious, however, thatseparate driving mechanisms could be employed for each clamp or for eachgroup of clamps, and it is also obvious that the clamps could betightened or loosened by hand or by any other suitable mechanism withoutchanging the form of the rail-engaging portions of the clamps. V

In order to turn the clamps from effective to ineffective position, andvice versa, the shank 25 of eachclamp may be provided with a suitablecontrol member, which may be in the nature of a crank plate 37 fixed toeach shank near the top thereof and having a crank arm 38 at one side.Each of these control members could be moved independently, butpreferably corresponding members onopposite sides of the truck areconnected by suitable movement-transmitting means so that movement ofone control member results in movement of the'other. One possible, formof such connection comprises the links or rods 39 connecting a crank arm33 on one side of the truck with the corresponding arm on the otherside, as'shown in Figure 1.} One of the control members of each pair maybe provided with suitable operating means, such as a handle or'lever4:0extending outthrough a slot in the side of the truck so as to beconveniently Y Movement of the handle 10 at one end of the truckcontrols the two clamps at opposite sides of the truck at that end,while movement'of the other handle 40 at the other end of the truckcontrols the other two clamps, as appears clearly from Figure 1. Thus,itis seen that one pair of clamps may be moved to effective positionwhile the other pair maybe placed in ineffective position if it isdesired for any reason to clamp the truck at only one end.

It is obvious that the rotation of the worm wheels 30 when moving theclamps upward or downward will tend to produce rotation of the shanks 25of the clamps, due to the friction between the worm wheel and the shank.Rotation of these shanks be prevented by means of the-same controlmembers 37 which are used to move the clamps to ef be provided fectiveor ineffective position. To accomplish this, a suitable stop member maybe employed to hold one of the controlmembers in each pair 1n oneposition or the other, and

thus to overcome the tendency of the clamps to rotate with the wormwheels 30. One possible form of such stop member comprises the pin 41which may be dropped downward through a suitable hole in the frame ofthe truck and may enter an opening 42 in one of the control members ofeach connected pair. This stop member will therefore hold the controlmember in which it is inserted in the desired position, and because ofthe link connection 39 between this-control member and the otherone otthe same pair, the other control member also will be held in the sameposition. lVhcn it is desired to move the control members from oneposition to the other, in order to shift the clamps, the pin 41 may bewithdrawn from the opening 42, thus permitting movement of the controlmember.

It will now be seen that a very simple and effective clamping mechanismhas been disclosed by means of which a truck may be clamped instantly torails or may be quickly loosened for movement along the track to anotherposition. At the same time, it is but the work of a moment to move theclamps to an ineffective position in which they will not interfere withthe entire removal of the truck from the track.

lVhile one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to beunderstood thatthe inventive idea may be carried out in a number ofways. This application is therefore not to be limited to the precisedetails shown, but is intended to cover all modifications thereoffalling within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a truck adapted to run. on railway rails, of aclamp for engaging the head of a rail. said clamp including a threadedshank, and being movable from an effective to an ineffective position byturning said shank, and being engageable with the head of a rail bylongitudinal movement of said shank when said clamp is in its effectiveposition, a nut threaded on said shank and adapted to producelongitudinal movement thereof when rotated relative to the shank.

and a control member fixed to said shank for turning the same fromeffective to ineffective position and also for preventing the shank fromrotating with said nut when the nut is turned to move the shank.

2. The combination with a truck adapted to run on railway rails, of avertically movable clamp mounted on said truck, said clamp being soarranged that a portion of the clamp will underlie the head of a railwhen in one position. andv that said clamp is entirely free for verticalseparation from Sftlf rail when in a second position, means for movingsaid clamp from one of said positions to the other of said positions,and separate motor operated means for lowering and elevating said clamp.r 3. The combination with a truck adapted to'run on railway rails, of aclamp having an oscillatory movement about a vertical axis andengageable with the under face of the head of said rails, said clampincluding a member movable longitudinally to tighten the clamp, and anut threaded on said longitudinally movable member, whereby rotation ofsaid nut moves said member to tighten the clamp.

4. The combination with a truck adapted to run on railway rails, of aplurality of clamps for engaging the heads of said rails, each. clampincluding a member movable longitudinally to tighten said clamp, a nutthreaded on each of said longitudinally movable members, a worm wheelformed integral with each of said nuts, a Worm for driving each of saidworm wheels, and common operating means for driving said worms.

5. A clamp for engagement with the head of a rail, comprising tworail-engaging portions fixed relative to each other and having apassageway between them wider than the width of the head of a rail, saidportions being'adapted to underlie the head of a rail when said clamp isin one position, and to permit free vertical withdrawal of said clamfrom said railwhen said clamp is turned to another position, means forturning said clamp from said first position to said second position, andpower operated means for raising and lowering the clamp.

6. A clamp for engagement with the head of a rail, comprising a memberof inverted U-shape, the free ends of said member being bent inwardlytoward each other, a shank fixed to the central portion of said member,power operated means for moving said shank longitudinally, and means foroscillating said shank about its longitudinal axis.

7. The combination with atruck adapted to run on railway rails, of aplurality of clamps for engaging the heads of said rails, each of saidclamps being movable about a vertical axis from effective to ineffectiveposition, a control member associated with each clamp for moving saidclamp from one of said positions to theother, movement-transmittingmeansconnecting the control member of one clamp with the control memberof another clamp, operating means associated with one of said controlmembers for moving the same, and power operated means for actuating theclamps vertically.

8. The combination with a truck adapted to run on railway rails, of aclamp for engaging the head of a rail, said clamp being movable fromeffective to ineffective position, mechanism for tightening said clampwhen it is in its effective position, said mechanism when operatinghaving a tendency to rotate said clamp, a control member associatediwithsaid clamp for moving the clamp from efiee tive to ineffective position,and a stop member cooperating with said control member to hold the clampin its effective position and to 0ppose said tendency to rotate theclamp. V

9. The combination with a truck adapted to run on railway rails, of aclamp that is movable about a vertical axis to bring it into or out ofoperative relationship with the rail, and power operatecl'lneans formoving; the clamp vertically to grip 01 release a rail.

In Witness Whe1.'eol',1have hereunto signed my name.

ALFRED TROSCH.

